Cot



C. M. IRWIN AND E. A. FISCHER.

COT.

APPLICATION FILED SEFT- 8,192I- 1309,380. Patent d Mar-'14, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I. W

c. M. IRWIN AND E. A. FISCHER.

cow. APPLICATION F ILED SEPT. 8, 192]- 1,409,380, Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

. SHEETS-SHEET 2.

fiiz' fii $6 Y u "4 /6 y [yea 723 0? 61/117. //?W//V UNITED STATES EICE.

A'rNr CHARLES MILTON IRWIN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, AND EDWARD AUGUST FISCHER, 0F

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

' Y cor.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES MiLroN IRWIN and EDWARD AUcUs'r FISCHER, citi- Zens of the United States, and residents, respectively, of San Francisco, county of San Francisco, and State of California, and Berkeley, county of Alameda, and State of California, have invented a new and useful Cot, of which the following is a specification. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in collapsible cots and its object is to provide a cot of the character described that when set up is perfectly rigid and does not essentially differ from a solid cot, and when (ollapsed can be reduced to a bundle of small size such as can be conveniently carried in an automobile or even on a persons back. A main feature of our cot are its joints, which although collapsible, are perfectly rigidwhen assembled and to the casual observer .do not even suggest the fact that the cot is collapsible.

. The preferred form of our cot is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side view of thesame in its collapsed condition, Figure 2 a perspective view of the cot set up, Figure 3 a longitudinal section through a hinged portion of a side frame member of the cot,,Figure 4 a cross-section along line 44 of Figure 3, Figure 5 a cross-section along line 5 -5 of Figure 3, Figure 6. a perspective view of an end portion of an end frame member, Figure 7 a perspective view of an end portion of a side frame member adapted to receive the member illustrated in Figure 6, Figure 8 an end view of the cot turned upside down and ready to be collapsed, Figure 9 a side view of the cot illustrating, with the aid of a dotted line position, the last step in the assembling of the cot, and Figure 10 a longitudinal section corresponding to that of Figure 3, but slightly modified.

In detail, our cot (1) comprises four frame members, two side members (2) and two end members (3). The side members are centrally hinged so that one half (4) can be folded on the other half (6). The hinged portion is surrounded by a rectangular sleeve (7), which encloses the end portion of member (6) on all four sides and is rigidly clamped to the same so as to leave the surface of the member flush, while it encloses the end portion of member (4) on three sides Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 1H3 14, 1922, Application filed September 8, 1921. Serial No. 499,147;

and at the same time insures perfect rigidity 1 when the two members-are alined. A perforation (14) is provided to receive a looking pin (16), which firmly locks the loose member (4) to the sleeveand is secured to the frame by a small chain (17).

To secure the end members to the side members of the frame we provide similar sleeves (18) at the ends of each side member. These sleeves surround the ends on all four sides and are rigidly fitted on the same against sliding motion and so as'to leave the outside perfectly flush. They extend beyond the ends of the side members through a distance equal to the width of the side members and these extensions have a central portion cut out of the inner side so that the remaining portion resembles a channel lying on one of its. flanges and having small tongues (21) extending from the toes of the flanges and pointing toward each other. These channels are adapted to receive the ends of the end member of the frame, which have been prepared to fit into the same by being slightly reduced in thickness and by" being provided with grooves (22) adapted to receive the projections (21). i

4 It will be easily seen that a frame conj structed in this manner is perfectly rigid when assembled and represents a smooth, un- 1 broken surface all over and a clean, attrac tive appearance. I

wardly, care being taken that the legs do notexceed' in length a one-half of the end members so that they when folded can lie flat against the end member in longitudinal alinement with each other. Metal braces I '100 The legs (23) are hingedly secured to the f end members of the frame so as to fold in- (24), pivotally secured to the end members,

as at (26), are provided at their free ends headed studs (28) secured on the legs, and similar braces (29) supported on the legs by means or" notches engaging studs (32) steady the side members of the cot.

For a mattress we preferably use a one-' piece canvas (33) provided with a fortifying rod at either end and a plurality ofholes back of the rods for receiving the fastening means. The latter conprise at one end a plurality of springs 3 extending between the holes in -the canvas and corresponding hooks secured in the end frame member, and at the other end a cord (38) laced between the holes in the canvas and corresponding hooks in that end member.

A modified form of hinging arrangement for the center of the side members is shown in Figure 10, in which the hinge proper does not form an integral part of the sleeve, but is an independentmember and secured to the joining end portions of the side in a recess ll) so that one of the straps, (42), is disposed between the wood and the sleeve. To collapse the bed the braces are first released and placed parallel to their respec tive supporting members and the legs are folded on the end members, preferably after turning the cot upside down, as shown in Figure 8. The pins (16) locking the side hinges are removed so thatthe side members can be slightly bent to release the tension on the canvas, whereupon the end members of the frame can be slipped out of the sleeve extensions. The side members are then folded completely and one is placed on top of or adjacent to each end member. whereupon the canvas is rolled up from either end so as to enclose end and side members and to join somewhere near the center, presenting an appearance like that shown in Figure 1. I V.

I To set it up, unroll the canvas, unfold the side members partly, place the end members into the extensions of the sleeves, un-

told and brace the legs and place the structure thus obtained on the ground when it will present an appearance as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 9. A firm pressure on the side hinges will now cause the cot to assume its final shape. It will be noticed that the structure illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 9 presents a toggle joint allowing a person to exert great pressure with comparatively little effort, so that in this manner a very convenient means is provided for sion having a central portion of its inner Y side cut away so as to present two tongues extending toward each other, and a reduced end portion of the transverse member adapted to fit into the extension of the sleeve, said reduced end portion having grooves at its bases for engaging the tongues of the sleeve. I i

CHAR-LES MILTON IRXVIN.

EDVARD AUGUST FISCHER. 

